


More than Diamonds

by GuyOfShy



Series: Scatterings of White Roses and Sightings of Bumblebees [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Bumblebee/by - Freeform, F/F, Fluff with a side of poignancy, I Tried, Valentine's Day, White Rose - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 21:38:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3356192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuyOfShy/pseuds/GuyOfShy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team RWBY traipses through Valentine's, facing the sweet cruelty of guilty pleasures and the pained relief of dredging up the pieces of the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More than Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> This one's for you Monty.

Ruby cracked her eyes open to the harsh light of dawn.

She sluggishly turned her head to glance at the clock and its usual reading of 7:00, doing her best to look past the blurred rays shivering through the window.

‘ _Huh. 9:38? Weiss never lets me sleep in late... I wonder why._ ’

Ruby groaned in her weary confusion, and slung herself over Weiss to plant a dewdrop on her lips as she did every morning, but instead found her arms tenderly wrapped around a pillow. She scurried away in a panic, noticing that she was alone in the bed.

She longingly pouted at the substitute pillow, wondering where in the world her princess could have disappeared to.

‘ _Weiss doesn’t just leave in the morning, that isn’t like her... Not to mention, Blake also seems to be missing. And where is that sweet smell coming from?_ ’

Neither of them were at a table. Ruby didn’t hear the shower running. Hmm.

Ruby did hear the familiar click of their door, instinctively turning to it to see the person in question striding through the dorm with a warm smile stretched across her face, sparkling eyes bringing Ruby to nervous pieces as they always did.

“Oh, uh, hey Weiss.” Ruby nonchalantly scooted over to hide the mark she had left on the pillow. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing,” she simpered, coyly and carefully striding over to Ruby, a peculiar hop in her step and a stranger jubilance in her voice. “Good morning Ruby.”

As Weiss neared her, she revealed what she had been hiding behind her back. She extended a plate to Ruby, stacked with a tower of fluffy pancakes soaked in syrup, and topped with succulent-looking strawberries.

Ruby’s eyes lit up in joy, and she gave off an excited squeal as they were placed in her lap. Weiss sat down next to her, providing her with the morning kiss she had so desperately been longing for.

“It took me an eternity to find a brand of pancake mix that Ren wasn’t skeptical about. Apparently Pumpkin Pete specializes in more than one venue.”

Mumbling between bites, Ruby excitedly offered her thanks. “Mm, thamks a lot Weiss! These are really good!”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ruby.”

Ruby’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth, which she promptly covered with her other hand, her alarmed eyes darting to Weiss.

“Oh! It’s Valenti- Valen-”

“Swallow..."

She gulped, “It’s Valentine’s Day!”

A startled gasp was uttered from above them. Yang swiftly leaped out of her bed, pouncing on a set of clothes in the closet. Ruby and Weiss observed as she ran to the bathroom, scrambling to start getting dressed for the day.

Through the mirror they could see the panicked look in her eyes. She shouted, “It IS Valentine’s Day! DARN IT!”

“Seriously?!” Weiss gawked at the blonde, disappointed in her prevailing remissness. “Don’t tell me you forgot, Yang.”

The blonde nervously chuckled as she gathered her things. “Heh, uh, it may have slipped my mind.”

With that, she bolted out of the room in a panic, presumably to find a gift for Blake.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she spied her sister peeking her head back around the doorway, timidly asking, “Any ideas?”

Right away Ruby exclaimed, “Ninjas of Love, Ninjas of Love, Ninjas of Love! Go!”

Yang gave her a big thumbs up and dashed down the hall again, shouting, “Great! Thanks Rubes!”

The redhead’s gaze lingered at the doorway for a few moments, and when it seemed certain that her sister had departed them she slowly returned to Weiss with a smile.

“Well, Happy Valentine’s Day Weiss! I can’t give you my gift now, but it’ll be soon, I promise.”

“At least you remembered, unlike your sister. Yang should be worrying about a gift more than you.”

Ruby despondently looked away, muttering, “Oh, I just hope you’ll like it..."

Weiss earnestly took her hand. “Ruby, you of all people know that I don’t need a gift-”

Ruby had interrupted her with a sharp inhale, cupping her own cheeks with her hands. “ _Wow_ , look at me! I’m Weiss! I’m rich, I already have everything!”

Weiss scowled, laying her chastising eyes upon Ruby, who stopped swaying to frightfully glimpse at her.

“I don’t need a gift _to know how much you love me_ ,” she sneered.

“Oh. Uh... I’m sorry?”

Ruby set the small remainder of pancakes on the table, and lunged at her with a hug, professing, “I thought you were going to say that I wouldn’t be able to find you anything.”

She looked up from Weiss’ arms to discover she was wearing a deep shade of red, mimicking her own.

“Why are you blushing Weiss?”

Squirming in Ruby’s grip, she sputtered, “I-I’m blushing because of you, dolt!’”

Ruby couldn’t help smiling. Hearing Weiss call her her dolt was enough to force one onto her.

Seeing Weiss flustered was enough to make her blush. Seeing the prideful, composed girl crumble into cuteness was enough to send her heart into a fever. There were just so many wonderful things about Weiss that Ruby couldn’t wrap her head around, that she would always think about, that made her _so_ happy, that-

Weiss captured Ruby’s flittering attention with a quick peck on her sweetened lips, delicately suggesting a change in venue.

Ruby meekly noticed her concern, a deep shade of red permeating her cheeks. “O-Oh, uh, sorry Weiss. May have gotten a little carried away,” she replied with a giggle.

Weiss crossed her legs, patiently eyeing Ruby. “So what do you suppose we should do?”

The girl shrugged, passing a glance to Weiss.

“I dunno, I thought you would’ve had something in mind... But...”

And there it was again. One of Ruby’s most endearing quirks was her expression she made when she was about to embarrass herself. Weiss affectionately watched the girl tentatively wringing her hands together, a blush arriving on her cheeks.

“Um, how about we just, um...”

Ruby pursed her lips and quickly greeted Weiss with them, nervously and awkwardly leaning forward as she always did.

But before Weiss could fully embrace the adorable ball of joy, Ruby reeled back to finish her sentence.

“Maybe we could do that for a while?”

Her silent and bashful blush, her eager intentions, her doubtful smile and yet always hopefully endearing eyes... There was just so much to love about Ruby. Weiss was always gravitating towards her, and it was so hard to resist.

Before Ruby knew it, she had two hands on her cheeks pulling her forwards. She smiled before her lips were forced to pucker for Weiss’ covetous advance.

\-----

The lilting flapping of turning book pages, the quiet shuffling of footsteps across the burnished floor, and not a single voice daring to make a peep.

Blake was glad she was able to experience a silent, tranquil day in the library being able to read to her heart’s content. Lately it had become Yang’s default destination when looking for her, and she tended to create very unnecessary ruckuses that earned even the reputable Blake suspicious eyes from the librarians when walking in.

But Blake would have preferred to be alone on any day other than this one. Today, of all days, was pointless without Yang beside her.

Blake turned her own page with an absent sigh blown into the vacant space in front of her.

Where was Yang?

The first time she had wanted Yang to come ruin her plans, her peace, and on their first Valentine’s Day together she was nowhere to be found, for Blake had eventually returned to the dorm to accompany her, but the rest of her team wasn’t there. She had figured that Ruby and Weiss would be off doing who-knows-what somewhere, but she couldn’t decide if Yang was off on her typical daily shenanigans, or if she was preparing their own date.

Blake found herself counting all the books that she would give just to have Yang steal her breath away again, when suddenly she _did_ lose her breath, choking due to a pair of arms coiled around her abdomen much too tightly.

Fighting against her squandered oxygen, Blake instinctively kicked the chair back and into the gut of the assailant, lifting her book in the air to smite the fool who thought she could sneak up on her.

She stopped when she saw a pool of gold spilled out around the collapsed body, who held their gauntlet-adorned arms around their stomach in pain.

Blake’s voice was equal parts confusion and concern for the victim. “Yang?”

The blonde winced before looking up to her with a smile. “I know I’ve said that I can feel your love before, but this is taking it to, a whooole new level..."

It only dawned on Blake what she had done upon hearing Yang’s aching tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” She grabbed Yang’s hand to hoist her up into a seat she had pulled out next to her. “If you hadn’t choked the air out of me I wouldn’t have reacted like that.”

“I was trying to surprise you, which seems to have worked painfully well, and tell you ‘ _I’ll_ be your Ninja of Love today,’ but then I got impaled by a chair,” she grumbled, gingerly rubbing her new bruise.

Blake sighed and let her hands fall to her lap. “Again, I’m sorry Yang. I didn’t mean to ruin your present.”

“No no, it’s all good.” She waved her hand as if to say that part of her Valentine’s Day surprise wasn’t completely ruined, wounding Blake on the inside.

“But, if anyone should be apologizing, I think it should be me.”

Blake quizzically lifted her head. “Why do you say that?”

Yang candidly continued, reprimanding herself. “It’s halfway through Valentine’s Day Blake, and I’ve only been with you for two minutes.”

Blake pecked her on her cheek and flipped her book closed. “We still have the rest of the day.”

Yang returned the favor, vowing, “I’ll be sure to make it up to you Blake. Or, out with you. Whatever you prefer.”

A grin spread its way across her lips as a kittenish smirk did the same for Blake, who spoke with amorous charm. “I think we both know how I would want to spend my time.”

“Already feeling frisky are we?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Yang keenly grinned at her playfulness, then leaned over to peer at the book on the table.

“So, what were you reading?”

An unusual question from Yang.

A skeptical Blake explained. “I was just rereading the fifth ‘Ninjas of Love’ book. I would be reading the new installment, but it’s sold out everywhere, and I don’t have the money anyways.”

Yang frowned. “Aw, what a shame.”

Blake was certainly suspicious now. The sardonic disappointment in her voice was certainly feigned.

“I’m so sorry about that Blakey, it’s just too bad you don’t have any money right now.” She smiled, and brandished a black, leather-bound book from her jacket. “Because I just so happened to have gotten one in stock today.”

Blake gasped upon sight of the object. Somehow, Yang had, unbelievably, procured that book. Though she was concerned to find out how, she couldn’t deny her curiosity.

“Yang, how did you find one?!”

“I know a guy.” She waved her hand to dismiss the details of the subject before waving the book in front of Blake. “Here, it’s all yours.”

Blake gasped, clasping her hands in excitement.

“Oh, thank you so much Yang!” She drifted forward to grab the book and to coat Yang in kisses to show her gratitude, but she withdrew from her reach.

Yang’s grin expanded, as she started toward the stairs to leave the study area.

“It’s all yours, but all you have to do is kiss me to get it!”

With that, she exited the library and dashed down the hall.

Blake’s eyes were riveted to the spot where Yang was standing. Silence and solitude enveloped her again as she attempted to process what just happened.

She had fallen for the bait, and now Yang was reeling in her prize.

Blake clenched her fist, politely tucked in her chair, and took off to go find her troublesome, diabolical, fiendish girlfriend to give her the kissing of a lifetime, one that she would make sure Yang would never forget.

\-----

“Alright Weiss, it’s at a _place_ , and that’s why I can’t give it to you yet. But that’s all I’m gonna tell you!”

“A place? From the hurry that you’re in it seems like it’s distant from here.”

“Just a little bit, but if we leave now, we’ll be able to make in time for the sunset!” 

Weiss scoffed at her childish ambition. “Would you like us to leave then?”

Her leader eagerly smiled. “I do believe so, just give me a second.”

Weiss observed Ruby reaching around her neck and removing her cloak, which was a rare sight indeed.

When was the last time she hadn’t worn it? The dance? Even then, she was still asking for it. She even wore it to sleep!

Weiss fondly recalled how most nights, she somehow always ended up tangled with Ruby in her cape. It looked so unusual to find it absent from her attire.

...What was so special about that cloak?

Even when it had a hole pierced through it by the Nevermore feather, before they were together, Ruby had come up to her begging her to fix it.

It was a prized possession she didn’t want the slightest risk in losing, but was now doffing it to help prepare Weiss’ gift, who was stricken with the kindness of the act.

Ruby lowered herself to pull a few objects from under the bed and bundled them up in her cape, unwilling to let Weiss take a peek.

She humbly held out her cape to Weiss.

“Uh, Weiss, can you make cold glyphs?”

“You mean a glyph used to keep something cold?”

“Yeah, exactly! Can you do that on my cloak?”

“Of course I can! Snow is part of my name, after all. But... On your cloak? Are you certain?”

“I’m sure. I trust you Weiss. Besides, what good is a leader if she can’t trust her teammates, much less her girlfriend?”

Weiss admiringly smiled. With a mere flick of her wrist she carefully conjured the desired glyph onto Ruby’s cape, taking great care not to damage it in the process. 

Smiling at the results, Ruby leaped up and reached for Weiss’ hand, bag of surprises in tow.

“Alright Weiss! To Vale!”

\-----

‘ _Alright, Yang... Where would you go next? The dorm? Tch, of course not Blake, that’s too obvious. Process of elimination I suppose..._ ’

Blake had searched most of the main areas of the campus, namely the locker rooms, the dining hall, several of the classrooms, as well as the gym, and couldn’t find any trace of Yang or any indication of her whereabouts.

Where in the world could she have run off to that _wasn’t_ any of those places? Surely she didn’t leave the Academy.

Right...?

No, definitely not. Though, that did spawn an idea.

Blake took a short jog to the main entrance of the Academy, thinking that Yang might have just exited the building itself. Among the shuffling waves of the student body she briefly surveyed high and low the area outside the front of the campus, and out on the main avenue. No Yang.

A longer run over to the amphitheater yielded the same result. Absolutely empty.

She took a trip to the ballroom. A quick scan around the room revealed nothing, as a result of the balloons and streamers and other sundry decorations still embellishing the hall.

Nothing.

With an exhausted sigh she sat down at the table she had shared with Yang during the prom. She could see the memories take shape, figures of students waltzing around the room with each other. She remembered Ruby bumbling around in Weiss’ arms, almost breaking her own ankle and ruining Weiss’ dress in the process, and her own first dance with Yang.

With a reminiscent sigh she rested her elbow on the dainty tablecloth, but felt a scratchy contrast to the soft feel she was expecting. Under her arm was a rather large paper note that she had failed to notice when coming in.

Blake swiped it up, quietly growling as she read it.

‘ _Ah-hah! You’ve activated my trap card! There will be a surprise waiting for you in the dorm room, my dear Blakey. Bet you thought it was ‘too obvious’ for me to be there, huh? Rookie mistake. Head on up there!_ ’

Still, even when Yang was too far away, she taunted Blake. It was a mistake! She had slipped this time, but marched her way up to the dorm room, dreading whatever kind of ‘surprise’ Yang had left for her.

\-----

Weiss tugged on Ruby’s shoulder and pulled her to a stop.

“Ruby, are you sure that you know where we’re going?”

“Um...”

“The sun’s going to begin setting soon you know.” Weiss sighed, and scolded the girl under her breath. “What a poor sense of direction...”

Ruby whirled around with a frown, wagging her finger in Weiss’ face. “Hey, need I remind you of the Initiation?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was occupied with trying to keep us alive!”

Ruby’s shoulders drooped slightly. “It was a relatively peaceful moment..."

Weiss returned her hand to Ruby’s and started pulling her along, hoping to avoid an argument frighteningly similar to the previous one.

“Look, let’s just continue moving. You would think that after wasting so much time blundering around here in the Emerald Forest we would recognize at least _something._ ”

Ruby flinched at the muttered upbraiding. “I’m sorry Weiss, I just thought I would remember where it was, but I guess I didn’t study the map I made hard enough..."

“You made a map just to lead us here? Why don’t you have it then?”

Ruby marched forward and resumed her lead, proudly proclaiming, “Well, I made it on my hand, but I forgot that it would wash off...”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Of course. So just how close, or far, are we?”

“I mean...” Ruby swung her head left and right, then all around. “We _should_ be there soon..."

She uttered a gasp, and suddenly Weiss was yanked to her side as the girl abruptly veered off to her right, dragging the heiress behind her.

She shouted, “Oh! There’s that tree I chopped down!”

As they passed the dilapidated sign of frustration, Weiss berated her for creating such a crude landmark, but Ruby casually waved it off.

“Sorry, but I know where we are now!”

Weiss took Ruby’s word for it and stumbled along behind the girl, who was almost too quick for her own feet to catch up with. As the canopy of trees grew thicker Weiss found herself briskly weaving around trees and ducking under branches.

In front of her Ruby grind to a halt and without time to react accordingly she slammed into her, nimbly avoiding crushing her bundled up cape.

“RUBY! Who knows how violently that glyph could’ve explod-”

Ruby silenced her with a cursory kiss to the lips, and announced, “We’re here Weiss! Close your eyes!”

“Ugh, what?” Weiss glared at her for a moment of attempted assertiveness, then obediently sighed.

“Okay, they’re closed.”

\-----

Blake vehemently slammed the door open.

She took articulate steps full of pernicious intent into the dorm, ready to pounce on Yang the moment she saw her, only to find the newest edition of Ninjas of Love lying on her bed in pristine condition.

There was another note on it.

‘ _Alright, so you didn’t have to kiss me for the book. It was good bait though! Now if you’ll please head on over to the closet, put on what I’ve left for you in there, and come up to the roof, that would be marvelous._ ’  
Yang  
xoxo

Through every second of this miserable chase Blake was worrying more and more for what Yang had planned for them.

She lividly lumbered over to the closet, hesitant to reveal its contents. Knowing Yang, she had probably left some kind of embarrassing cat costume, or an exhibisionist’s outfit or _something_...

Oh.

Blake’s prom dress was hanging front and center, ready to be taken. She eyed it for a moment, contemplating its purpose there.

She started undressing.

\-----

When Weiss had been told to open her eyes, she was absolutely awestruck at the sight Ruby had presented to her.

The setting sun cast lazy orange and pink hues streaking across the sky, reflecting in the lucid lake in front of her. The small sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore assuaged her ears, her eyes being stolen by the flourishing flowers nearby.

Weiss’ gawking eyes and gaping mouth clearly communicated her speechlessness to Ruby, who, delighted with her amazement, took her hand in her own and gestured to the area around them.

“Well? Isn’t it great?”

Weiss stepped forward, marveling at the tiny natural wonder. “It’s _beautiful_! Magnificent! How did y-”

“Wait! And look!” Ruby ran forward to the edge of the lake, and leaned down to peer off the edge. Weiss followed closely behind, and was again amazed at what she saw.

Forming a little ring around the ebbing water were several upon several roses. _White_ , roses.

The irony was dreadful.

A perturbed Weiss incredulously looked to Ruby.

“...White, roses. I’ve _never_ , ever heard of such a phenomenon.”

“I know, right? Me neither! Weiss, what are the odds that these are here, just outside of Vale?”

Weiss stared at her completely at a loss, absently shaking her head.

“Ruby, I truly love you so much. I truly, truly, truly, love you so much. I’m not certain how in the world you managed to find these, but this is the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Ruby aporeticly frowned at the praise. “Aww, the second? What’s the most beautiful thing?”

Weiss continued to blankly stare at her, patience quickly eroding away.

Ruby raised a brow in genuine confusion. “What...? _Oh!_ ”

“You dolt.” Weiss smiled as she wandered over to greet Ruby’s lips with her own.

Still, even when Weiss’ tolerance with Ruby’s innocent antics was running low, she couldn’t resist her aloof charm.

Ruby leaned back with a bashful smile.

“ _You’re_ the prettiest anybody ever, Weiss. Anyways, this whole place is present number one. And here..." Ruby leaned down and plucked a single rose from the ring, extending it to her. “Is present number two! I truly love you so much Weiss. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Weiss cordially accepted both roses in front of her, one in her hand and the other again with a kiss.

After regrettably parting with Weiss’ lips, Ruby slung her cloak of goodies off of her shoulder, and rolled it out onto the grass behind them.

“And here, is present number three!”

Ruby had filled her cape with a simple basket, which she opened and began emptying the contents of.

A myriad of sugary sweets tumbled out of the basket in bins and containers of all sizes. Every single one of Weiss’ favorite foods was laid out in front of her, including some delectable-looking vanilla sorbet and blueberry frozen yogurt, along with a sizable mound of cookies.

So this is what the glyph was for. 

She immediately snatched away her favorites, while Ruby scooped up as many cookies as she could gather in her arms, excitedly exclaiming, “Today is supposed to be a sweet day, so I packed as many sugary sweets as I could!”

“I hope I’ll be able to have you for dessert,” she teased, pitching a smirk.

And there was that adorable flustered groan.

She pointed her finger at Ruby, wagging it between bites. “You know, it deeply frustrates me when I can’t express how much I appreciate you. I don’t know what else to say other than that I love you.”

Ruby lowered her head, feebly proposing, “You could kiss me...?” Her hopeful eyes were pleading Weiss to do so, and so she did, gladly allowing Ruby to squeeze her into a hug.

Ruby was curious as to how someone so perfect could exist. Every time she took a peek at Weiss she smiled, and every time they kissed, her heart was pumped full of happiness. She ferverously clinged on to her in the hopes that it wouldn’t burst before the day was over.

Then they parted. Weiss abruptly terminated the hug-and-kiss embrace, hands holding Ruby’s delicate cheeks. The girl’s sheepish, charming little grin was causing an irrepressible smile to crawl its way to Weiss’ lips as she beheld her blooming little rose.

“Ruby Rose, you are the epitome of cuteness. Don’t _ever_ change.”

Ruby flushed red as she was being scanned by Weiss, her eyes fondly poring over every bit of Ruby and yet continuing to look solely into her eyes.

She meekly scoffed. “Psh, the _epitome_? Oh, not me...” Her eyes dismissively fell away, before returning in a curious glance.

“What’s one thing you would change about me Weiss?”

Weiss blinked, realizing Ruby had just asked her to alter that image of sweetness. “One thing I would change about you? Anything?”

“ _Anything_. Physical, emotional, whatever.”

Weiss focused on her face, her hair, her mannerisms as she computed the problem. She quickly found that changing something about Ruby was something she could not cope with.

She sighed to signify her surrender. “It sounds sappy, but, there’s nothing I would change about you Ruby.”

“Nope! Even if that’s true, give me one thing, like if you had to.”

“Ugh, well... Hmm... For your own sake, I would prefer it if you didn’t eat so many sweets so you don’t lose all your teeth. Eventually you’ll be unkissable.”

“Hey, I brush them faithfully!” Ruby defiantly chomped half of a cookie, asserting her control over the craving.

“Yes, I’m making _sure_ of that. Now, what’s one thing you would change about me?”

Ruby sucked in a tense breath. “Oh, um... Uh... Oh, Weiss, it would be awesome if you wore your hair down more.”

Weiss twirled her ponytail around to look at it, as Ruby explained.

“Your ponytail’s really cool and everything, but whenever you let it down at night, it always looks so pretty...”

Weiss inquisitively glanced at her, knitted brows soon giving way to a smile.

“Well, this is as good a time to start as any.”

With that, she undid her ponytail and let it freely fall around her.

She saw Ruby’s eyes widen in adoration, but, Weiss felt more... exposed than ever. 

As she contemplated putting it back to remedy her sudden discomfort, Ruby lovingly sighed and snuggled up into the freshly fallen snow.

...Maybe exposing herself to Ruby could be a good thing after all.

Maybe, they...

Weiss’ cheeks flushed.

What a brilliant idea!

For a minute that Weiss hated to interrupt, the two had been resting in each other’s embrace, silently for the most part, appreciating each other through giggling smiles and shimmering stares. It was a... thought-provoking experience to say the least, and had left Weiss time to contemplate Ruby’s deepest desires.

And Weiss knew for a fact, or at least, a guarantee from Yang, that there was one other thing that Ruby was willing to change about her.

She cleared her throat to quietly and casually revive the topic.

“Ruby?”

“Yeah Weiss?”

“Is, there anything else you would change about me?”

“Mmm, nope, not really. You’re perfect already.”

Weiss paused, probingly examining Ruby. “Are you certain?”

Ruby assuredly nodded, without a shred of doubt in her voice. “Yep!”

Weiss still pressed the matter. “Something like, oh, a habit of mine, or perhaps a physical trait of my body..."

“Uh, no, not really.”

Weiss could already tell the thoughts were pervading her mind.

“Are you _absolutely_ certain Ruby?”

“Uh, yes? I think?”

Weiss sighed in response, and dramatically leaned back, lifting her arm to her head to defend herself from the glaring rays of the sun.

“For a February day, it’s absolutely SWELTERING out here! I think I’ll go ahead and _remove my jacket_!”

As Weiss slid her coat off, she could see Ruby fighting against her fascination. A genuine struggle was taking place among the changing landscape of her face.

She sputtered, “I mean, you don’t have to-”

“But, you want me to?”

“No! Maybe? Wait-”

“Better?” Weiss extended her now fully revealed arms, and her confident suspicion, completely exposing her clavicle in all its osseous perfection.

Ruby curled up and huddled her head between her arms, reddened ears standing out even from her hair.

“WHY, WEISS? HOW’D YOU FIND OUT?!” She wailed.

As Ruby ashamedly groaned, Weiss scooted close and wrapped an arm around her.

“...Who told you about that?” She whimpered.

“You can thank your sister. I know I will.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told her, but I was too nervous to tell you, and I couldn’t just keep it to myself!”

“No need to worry, Ruby. I think it’s cute.”

“...Really?” Ruby timidly lifted her head out of its cradle, just enough to peek at Weiss from behind a blush.

Weiss lifted her head to kiss her, fingers curling around her burning cheeks.

“Really.”

\-----

Blake, clad in her dress interwoven with fond memories, forced the door open to the roof, intent on locking Yang in a kiss she had no chance of escaping. She ascended the last stair onto the summit of her expedition to find a soft orange glow being cast over the area, but no yellow in sight.

In the middle of the rooftop she found the source of the incandescence, radiating from a burning candle situated on a table fit for two, topped with a vase full of flowers, all quaintly seated under the sparkling canopy of stars.

Blake stared at it, still gripping the door handle. The table was vacant, silently beckoning, awaiting her to take her seat.

But... She couldn’t. This was the sappiest thing she had ever seen in her life. Nobody other than Yang would go through the trouble of setting up something so corny.

She was too busy admiring how clichéd and completely romantic the scenery was, and shaming herself for being a part of it, to notice the gentleman standing beside the doorway, fully suited in a tux and adorned with with a fake mustache.

He made a poor attempt at clearing his throat to grab Blake’s attention, and upon noticing she stepped back in alarm.

“Jaune?”

“Oh, hey Blake. Uh, _I mean_ , good evening, Miss Belladonna. A-right this way please.”

He bowed, and expertly guided her over to her seat, very politely pulling out her chair for her.

“Why, thank you Jaune. What a gentleman.”

“Now, don’t let your date catch you saying that. ” He winked, and pulled out a menu, from where Blake had no idea. “And now, what’ll you be having today? Er, tonight?”

Blake had to admit, she truly wasn’t expecting such a dedicated show from Yang. “Oh my... well, what do you have?”

Jaune’s eyes widened. Perhaps she spoke too soon.

“Oh. Uh, about that..." He threw the evidently fake menu off to the side, nervously chuckling. “We have colored pencils, I think? I don’t think there’s any food.”

Blake was about to belittle Yang’s typical planning behavior, but a loud crash interrupted her, and Jaune’s meager explanation.

The door to the rooftop was battered open by none other than Yang, clothed in her prom dress as well.

“Why, hello there my date!”

“Oh no..."

Yang eagerly waltzed over to the table, failing to notice Blake holding her head in her hands.

Jaune hurriedly traipsed over, confiding to Blake in a panicked whisper. “Seriously though, don’t tell her you said that, who _knows_ what she’ll do to me?”

Blake discreetly nodded as Yang continued spouting her fanfare. “I’m just running a little fashionably late, sorry for the wait! Oh, you can leave now Jaune, you made excellent bait.”

He bowed to them, saying, “A pleasure to be of service. I bid you, adieu.” With that, he scuttled away down the stairs, leaving Yang and Blake to themselves.

Yang seated herself after dismissing Jaune, greeting her date with a kiss on the hand.

Blake skipped the pleasantries.

“Yang, _why_ in the world are you rhyming?”

“Now now, why so irate?” She gestured her hands to the wonderful scenery she had so graciously set up around them, asking, “Isn’t this great?”

“It certainly is romantic, but you’re helping to kill the mood.”

“Come now Blake, my rhymes you could never hate!”

Blake’s equivocal stare was quickly pervading Yang’s composure. “At least tell me why.”

Yang’s scintillating smile suddenly evaporated, and she despondently slouched back in her chair.

She faintly muttered, “You always claim you dislike the puns I make, so I opted for a little change of pace.”

Her doleful voice had barely reached even Blake’s ears, but it pained her all the same.

She had said it countless times before. Not a single time though had she ever meant it, and she certainly hadn’t ever meant for it to have such a profound effect on Yang.

Blake’s heart broke under the guilt, as did her voice.

“...Oh... I... Yang-"

“Is there something you’d like to state?”

The heavy, bitter words weighed Blake down even more, but she tried her best to offer her delicate apologies.

“I, never meant for you to stop making puns Yang."

“...What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that I love your puns! Puns are charming, no matter how unpredictable they may be... just like you. You make them so often that, they just get a little annoying sometimes, is all. I would rather have you say more than none at all.”

With pleading eyes, she studied Yang silently staring at the table and ruminating on her words before dismally sighing.

Blake’s voice sunk down to a concerned whisper. “Yang, is something wrong?”

“No..." She crossed her arms on the table. “It’s just something I think about sometimes.”

Blake’s silence, on account of her lack of words, was her signal to continue.

“I’ve just, I’ve always been the outcast, you know? Back when I was a kid people would always ask me why I was so loud, what was wrong with me, but I was just being myself! How are you gonna tell a kid NOT to be themselves?”

She looked down again, careful not to meet Blake’s gaze. “People were never happy with what I did, for so long, so... I just get a little scared sometimes is all. I wanna do my best to make you appreciate m-”

“And you think I don’t? Yang, you respect _me_ as a Faunus! How am I not going to do the same for you? I don’t have a problem with you, you’re just a little reckless sometimes and I,” she gently held a hand to her heart, “ _we_ , all worry about you, Yang.”

Blake was almost affronted to hear Yang’s eremetic plight. Could she truly believe that Blake didn’t completely and wholly trust her, or care about her, or love her? Could she truly be having doubts, after all this time?

“I’m sorry..." Yang sniveled, jerking both of them from their thoughts. “I never know if what I do is right, so I just do it before I can think about it for too long...”

Blake, as gently as she could manage, laid her benevolent hand upon Yang’s across the table. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”

Yang shivered in surprise at her touch, immediately turning her attention to her her and observing as Blake reached a hand up to cup her cheek, but before she could tell Blake how corny she was, her lips were left speechless.

She tried to force her chin to stop quivering so she could properly kiss her girlfriend, but Blake was doing more than enough for the both of them.

A tongue silently crept in, and so the other felt obliged to do the same. Blake’s commanding lips turned ticklish against Yang’s, the audible smooching earning a set of red, heated cheeks from them. With one last curl of her lips, Blake reluctantly leaned away to marvel at the blush she had managed to put on Yang.

The blonde was astounded.

“You know, you really made me angry when you stole away with the book. I told you, don’t tempt me.”

Yang smiled, and laughed, wiping the rest of the wetness from her eyes. “Well, you have certainly stolen my heart..."

Blake smiled at the wordplay.

Yang saw this, and, reminded of her recent lapses, returned to her doldrums. “I’m sorry Blake, I look like a mess on our Valentine’s date..."

Blake took Yang’s hands in both of her own. “Yang, listen to me. If you truly feel that way about yourself, I still love you and everything about you, no matter the circumstances. If we are indeed outcasts, we’re outcasts together.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Blake continued imploring her, sifting through the clouds in her eyes.

Moments later, a radiant smile with enough shine to lift the blanket of dusk surrounding them spread across her face, but Blake hoped it would be enough to lift the one from her heart.

With eyes of adoration reflecting back into her own, Yang confessed, “I have no words to express how much I love you.”

Blake exhaled, instantly relaxing into a smile. “You certainly have the choral capability to, despite its untimeliness.”

“ _Untimeliness_? Just what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Well, before you sauntered in and attempted to lyrically seduce me I-”

“I’m leaning more towards ‘impress.’”

“ _Right_. Anyway, before you attempted to lyrically impress me, I was going to give you my gift.”

Blake reluctantly untied her bow and curled her fingers around it, handing it to Yang.

“Any time that we’re on dates, or simply among the team or alone together, I won’t wear my bow.”

Yang accepted it, and beheld the soft strip of silk in her hand. She stared at it, contemplating something, before gingerly closing her fist around it.

“Blake, I seriously appreciate this gift, and I’m not trying to sound ungrateful, but why are you doing this _now_? Why don’t you just take it off everywhere? I get what you went through with the White Fang, but are you that... upset about being a Faunus?”

Blake froze in the headlights that were Yang’s caring eyes.

Her first instinct was to run. She wanted to run away from this question, as she had done so many times before. But, this time, there was nowhere to go. She gaped at Yang in apprehension, trying to come up with another feeble excuse to run away.

“I..."

But that was all she had. She couldn’t think of anything to tell her.

Yang gripped her hand. “I’m not trying to upset you Blake, I just wanna know. You don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable with that.”

“No, I, just... It’s _always_ been a burden for me. I’ve always been insulted, always scorned, always different.” She stared directly at Yang. “I was always the outcast.”

Yang shifted in her seat.

Blake’s eyes looked down to the table, drifting off into painfully pervasive memories whose wounds she’d rather not reopen.

“From what it sounds like, we weren’t much different from each other. I developed a fear of showing my Faunus nature off, and eventually I began to hate it as well. I was always afraid of what people would say about me next, so I decided I was better off hiding it from the world.”

Blake was jarred from her pensive rumination when Yang slammed her fist on the table, bow tightly clenched in her grip.

“Blake! I love the fact that you’re a Faunus!”

“I know, but-”

“What parts about you do you not like?”

“Not like? My feline habits, my ears-”

“WHAT?! Your ears are the cutest, coolest things I’ve ever seen! You purr when I pet them, how could you not love that? And the way that you curl up next to me at night is adorable! You have, like, super-senses! Your limberness is awe-inspiring! You’re a huggable ball of Blakey affection that I cannot resist loving!”

Blake stared at Yang, wide-eyed. Throughout the course of her campaign of compliments she had rocketed from her chair, and leaned over the table, hands firmly planted on it.

“...You like me being a Faunus _that_ much?”

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever experienced!”

“...I’m sorry Yang. I didn’t know that it, _I_ , meant so much to you..."

Yang slowly slid back into her chair.

“I guess it isn’t too different from me and my issue... I’m sorry Blake. I just really wanted to know how you couldn’t appreciate something so wonderful, you know?”

She warmly smiled in response. “Yes, I do. I was wondering that not too long ago.”

“I’m gonna make sure to help you take as much pride in you being a Faunus as I do, alright?”

Blake wiped away a tear, clearing the way for a stream of several others to pour out.

“Alright... Thank you Yang. I promise I’ll do that. I-I just-”

“Hey, c’mon Blake. How about we stop with the waterworks tonight?”

Yang extended her hand out to her partner. “Outcasts together?”

Blake graciously and firmly shook it. “Together.” She dried the wetness from her cheeks, and moved in to resume passionately possessing her lover through locked lips.

Through the course of several minutes of kissing and caressing, neither could find a sensation more relieving than simply holding hands. With every kiss came a tighter grip, a solidification of their reinforced trust and fealty.

And again their lips broke, staring at each other through shamelessly flirtatious eyes, heated breath still dusting their lips, not daring to let a word escape them.

The pure love flowing between them had pushed them into silent devotion.

A stiff cough from Yang stimulated the resumption of time.

She pulled out her Scroll, and with a few taps of her shaky fingers, stated, “Well, we’ve still got... an hour or two until Valentine’s is over.”

“Oh, I..." And with a few words from a shaky voice, Blake retreated back into her insulated shell. “What would you like to do?”

The blonde smiled, standing from her chair and holding her hand out to Blake to lead her to the substitute dance floor.

“Well, this fake dinner set-up wasn’t the only reason why I wanted you to wear your prom dress.”

\-----

“Hey Ruby?”

“Yeah Weiss?”

“Thank you for finding us our own trysting spot.” Through the hushed stillness of the night, Weiss sat up to once again relish the beauty of the sight in front of her.

“Um, Weiss? What’s a trysting spot?”

Weiss took her hand across the roses scattered between them.

“It’s like our own personal date spot, that no one else knows about.”

Though she couldn’t see it, she knew that Ruby was blushing.

“...Hey Weiss?”

“Yes Ruby?”

“Was breakfast the only part of your gift?”

She incredulously scoffed. “My love isn’t enough to satisfy you?”

“Oh, no! Weiss, I meant-”

“I’m only teasing you Ruby. Of course that wasn’t it, it’s just not... ready yet.”

“Oh, okay, when do you think it will be ready?”

“Honestly, I think it depends on your sister.”

“...Hey Weiss?”

“Yes, Ruby?”

She paused for a moment. “Remember the tree I chopped down?”

“Yes.”

“Remind me to take the Nevermore feather that’s under it.”

Weiss let out a disappointed sigh.

Ruby turned her head, flashing a set of concerned eyes. “What is it Weiss?”

“Nothing.”

“Did you wanna carve our names into it or something? N-Not that I want to or anything!”

Weiss kept silent. Staring at the shining stars and trying to ignore the one next to her, she could feel her cheeks growing warm under their radiance. She simply thought keeping the feather as a trophy of sorts was silly, but Ruby’s idea wasn’t bad either.

She smiled. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t.”

“Okay, we’ll do that first thing when we leave.”

“When _are_ we leaving?”

“I dunno, but I wanna stay.”

“Ruby, don’t you think we should be getting back soon?”

“Well, um..." Ruby had blissfully forgotten what the night sky signified. She peered back up at the stars silently dancing across it, trying to determine how late it was.

...It might be a little late for returning on time.

“Uh, Weiss, what time is it?”

Weiss pulled out her Scroll, and sighed. “It’s 9:38 Ruby.”

She snapped her head up to frown at Weiss. “Pfft, what are you talking about, ‘getting back soon,’ we still have two more hours to go!”

Weiss skeptically scoffed in return. “To midnight? Are you mad?”

“-ly in love? Yes.” She nodded, full of conviction. “Valentine’s Day isn’t over until twelve Weiss, and I’m gonna make sure we enjoy every minute of it!”

Weiss considered her sweet intentions for a moment, factoring in their punishment for staying out late, and just how much study time she had already missed today.

“Well, I suppose I can let my grades fall, if it’s to make a _grade_ impression on you.”

Ruby tiredly groaned.

“Oh, come on! It’s just as good as any of Yang’s!”

“Almost. Huh, I wonder how Yang’s doing.”

“And if she ever got her girlfriend a gift.”

“I’m sure she pulled something off, just like she always does.”

“I dearly hope that they aren’t pulling _clothes_ off.”

Ruby paused.

“Maybe we should stay until midnight...”

Weiss had clearly embarrassed herself with her own comment. “...Agreed.”

\-----

“Yang, this has, been a dream come true.”

“I’m glad you think so too. So, what do you wanna do now? We danced for a while and now we have... about a half an hour left.”

A breath escaped Blake, heart still charged with elation. “I don’t think we could do anything that could surpass that experience.”

“Well, do you have any ideas?” Yang turned to her with a casually inquisitive glance.

“No. Do you?”

Yang eagerly squeezed Blake’s hand, smiling very coquettishly.

“I think I know something we could do.”

**Author's Note:**

> My thought process behind the title is deceptively complex.
> 
> So, I chained together whatever fanciful reveries came to mind, and when I read this, this was not my best work. I feel like this one didn’t flow and Ijustwanttocrybut, though it plagues my conscience, please comment with all your thoughts and what I could do to improve. Hopefully I let your ships sail a little smoother for Valentine’s.
> 
> And about Monty: While his passing is regrettable, it’s about what he’s done, and I daresay he’s done more than enough. It fills me with the desire to do the same, and I hope that feeling is shared with you. Let’s all **“keep moving forward,”** and keep doing what we love.
> 
> As always, thank you so, so very much for reading. Happy Valentine’s (and apparently International Fanworks) Day!  
> 


End file.
